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The houses
Slytherin produces more than its share of Dark wizards, but also turns out leaders who are proud, ambitious and cunning. Merlin is one particularly famous Slytherin. You probably know that some of Slytherin’s most renowned members include Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange. But did you know Merlin himself was a Slytherin, or that according to legend, the ribbon of a First Class Order of Merlin is green to reflect his Hogwarts house? Extract from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling ‘Like what?’ Harry spat, fists still clenched. ‘Well,’ said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, ‘how is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort’s powers were destroyed?’ There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now. ‘Why do you care how I escaped?’ said Harry slowly. ‘Voldemort was after your time.’ ‘Voldemort,’ said Riddle softly, ‘is my past, present and future, Harry Potter...’ He pulled Harry’s wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name re-arranged themselves: I AM LORD VOLDEMORT ‘You see?’ he whispered. ‘It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father’s name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother’s side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!’ Harry’s brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry’s own parents, and so many others ... At last he forced himself to speak. ‘You’re not,’ he said, his quiet voice full of hatred. ‘Not what?’ snapped Riddle. ‘Not the greatest sorcerer in the world,’ said Harry, breathing fast. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn’t dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you’re hiding these days.’ The smile had gone from Riddle’s face, to be replaced by a very ugly look. ‘Dumbledore’s been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!’ he hissed. ‘He’s not as gone as you might think!’ Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true. Ravenclaws prize wit, learning, and wisdom. It's an ethos etched into founder Rowena Ravenclaw diadem: 'wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure' The famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat gives an account of its own genesis in a series of songs sung at the beginning of each school year. Legend has it that the hat once belonged to one of the four founders, Godric Gryffindor, and that it was jointly enchanted by all four founders to ensure that students would be sorted into their eponymous houses, which would be selected according to each founder's particular preferences in students. The Sorting Hat is one of the cleverest enchanted objects most witches and wizards will ever meet. It literally contains the intelligence of the four founders, can speak (through a rip near its brim) and is skilled at Legilimency, which enables it to look into the wearer's head and divine his or her capabilities or mood. It can even respond to the thoughts of the wearer. The Sorting Hat is notorious for refusing to admit it has made a mistake in its sorting of a student. On those occasions when Slytherins behave altruistically or selflessly, when Ravenclaws flunk all their exams, when Hufflepuffs prove lazy yet academically gifted and when Gryffindors exhibit cowardice, the Hat steadfastly backs its original decision. On balance, however, the Hat has made remarkably few errors of judgement over the many centuries it has been at work. .